Selva Mail vs
Postal
Free and open source, but it is a full mail server — you become the sender.
What Postal does well
The reference implementation for self-hosted mail delivery: MIT licensed, mature, widely deployed, and it genuinely replaces a provider rather than wrapping one. If you want to own the entire sending path down to the IP addresses, this is the project that does it.
Where the pricing model hurts
It makes you your own provider. You run the MTA, warm the IPs, monitor the blocklists and negotiate with mailbox providers, and deliverability becomes your permanent job. It is also a marketing blank — no visual builder, no campaigns, no lifecycle automation.
You run the mail server, so deliverability becomes your job.
What it costs at 5k, 10k and 25k
Assumes four emails per contact per month. Selva Mail is a one-time $497 license, then AWS bills you for what you actually send.
| Contacts | Postal | Selva Mail (AWS) | Annual saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | free software | ≈$2/mo | — | never — you are already cheaper |
| 10,000 | free software | ≈$5/mo | — | never — you are already cheaper |
| 25,000 | free software | ≈$12/mo | — | never — you are already cheaper |
Public list prices, 2026. Where a competitor is free software, the saving column is blank on purpose — the cost you are comparing is your own server and your own hours, not a license fee.
Selva Mail costs $497 once, then AWS at cost — about $6/mo at 50,000 emails. It is priced per email sent, not per contact, so it does not grow with your list.
Migrating from Postal
Postal is a delivery layer rather than a list tool, so there is usually nothing to export. Point your applications at the Selva Mail API instead, verify your domains as SES identities, and you stop maintaining a mail server.
Stop paying for the same contacts
every month.
$497 once. Runs on your infrastructure, sends through your own AWS SES account. Launch buyers get agency rights permanently — unlimited client workspaces. First 100 licenses.